Now you may ask how you can come 2nd in a Mitchell with
50%? – The answer is that the scores for ‘Terry all
alone’ are not included! And tough luck for John Gavens/Phil
on Friday – they scored 60% but only came 3rd !

There were loads of interesting boards this week – too many for the
news-sheet and so some have been left over for next week.

Bidding QuizStandard American is assumed unless
otherwise stated

Hand AHand
BWith Hand A LHO opens
1♣ and this is passed round to you, what do you do?

♠K9♠ 864

♥
QJ6♥AJ108763With Hand B, what do you do if:

♦Q1076♦8(a)RHO opens 1♦?

♣ QJ43♣ Q7(b)RHO opens 2♦ (weak)?

Hand CHand DWith Hand C
there are 3 passes and you open 1♠ in 4th seat.

(2)What did you do with this
North hand A in this week’s quiz? There are two sensible options. You can pass,
or you can bid 1NT. Now this is the pass-out (or balancing seat) and is totally
different from bidding in the direct seat (I cover it in detail below). Anyway,
1NT in the balancing seat is around 10-13 points.

(3)Stayman

(4)South was expecting 15-18
opposite.

And what happened? 3NT went two down for a poor score. If South had
passed 1NT then the +90 for N-S would have score around average.

The bottom lines: -

-Be aware of balancing bidding.
In the above example North would get a poor score for passing 1♣ and so
needs to be able to bid 1NT. One effective way of thinking about it is that you
‘borrow’ 4 points from partner. And partner needs to know this of course and
not leap about – so pass with the 11 count above.

Bidding in the Pass-out seat is totally different: here is a general type of schedule, different partnerships may
vary upon this a little: -: -

1NT=10-13

Double followed by NT =14-16

2NT=17+

A take-out double = 7+

An overcall =7+

Double followed by a suit=strong, but not as strong as in the direct seat because we also
have the jump overcall to show a strong hand.

A jump overcall=strong, range/strength up to you, say 17+ or
equiv.

Double followed by a new
suit=about 14-17 as a direct jump shows a stronger hand.

Cue bid=a 2♣ opener!

Note that jump overcalls are always strong. The cue bid and 2NT are
not Michaels/UNT – they do not exist in the balancing seat. There is no such
thing as a pre-empt in the pass-out seat, only bid if
you expect to get a +ve score!
Giving Count

Sometimes it is very important for partner to know how many cards
you have in a suit (and thus how many declarer has).

Suppose you are defending a 3NT contract and see ♦KQJ1098 on
the table but no outside entry. Declarer plays a low card from hand (so partner
has the ace) and you hold ♦72, which card do you play?

The answer is that it is really important to give count in this kind
of situation so that he knows how long to hold up his ace. You should play the ♦7 – highest
from an even number of cards. If you held ♦742 you must play the ♦2 to show
an odd number.

It is good practice to always give count when declarer is playing a
suit. This helps partner to get a picture of who has what. Of course this may
help declarer, and more advanced players know when to lie about their suit
lengths - when the information is more important to declarer than to partner.

There’s no such thing as a pre-empt over a
pre-empt!Board 10from Wednesday 12th

Dealer:♠ 3

East♥
Q942WestNorthEastSouth(B)

Both vul♦
K42--2♦3♥(1)

♣ 986524♠5♥(2)5♠pass

pass6♥passpass

♠ AKJ1075N♠ Q92dblall pass

♥
5WE♥ K

♦AQ5S♦J109763

♣ A104♣ KJ3

♠ 864

♥AJ108763

♦8

♣ Q7

(1)What did you bid with this
South hand B(b) in this week’s quiz? ‘Unfortunately’
any jump here shows a strong hand. With this hand B you should simply overcall
2♥; 3♥ shows a very good hand.

(2)An easy 5♥ bid, maybe
there’s slam?

And what happened? 6♥ doubled went 3 down
for a bottom to N-S at this vulnerability.

The bottom lines: -

-You cannot pre-empt over a pre-empt; jumps show a very good hand.

Invite with a good 11 or 12.Board 21 from Wednesday 12th

Dealer:♠ Q94

North♥ KJ953WestNorthEast(D)South

N-S vul♦ AJ3-passpasspass

♣ 951♥pass1♠pass

1NTpass2NT(1)pass

♠ A86N♠ K10743NT(2)all pass

♥ A8642WE♥ Q10

♦Q62S♦K85

♣ A8♣ K1062

♠ J54

♥7

♦10975

♣ QJ743

(1)What did you bid
with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? It’s a decent 11 points with three
10’s, and the Q10 in partner’s suit make it well worth a try for game (2NT).

(2)West has shown
12-14, and with this max he should certainly accept.

And what happened? 3NT made exactly. It’s a pretty straightforward
bidding sequence to a decent contract – so the same at every table? Apparently
not, At the other three tables one was in 1NT and the
other two in 2NT (making +1).

The bottom lines: -

-With 12 or a
decent 11, invite game opposite partner’s opening.

-With 14 points,
accept partner’s game invitation.

-Three 10’s are
worth a point, especially in NT.

Intermediates countBoard 17 from Friday 14th

I’ve said it a few time, 10’s and 9’s are sometimes important: -

Dealer:♠ A106

North♥
QJWestNorthEastSouth

Love all♦
AJ104-1NTall pass

♣ AJ106

I
don’t know the auction at other tables, but three

♠ KJ875N♠ 32N-S’s arrived in 1NT. I was
North here and with

♥
A75WE♥ K843his totally flat 2 count my
partner said ‘good luck

♦K63S♦Q92partner
– you’ll need it’ as he put down dummy.

♣ 84♣ KQ52In fact he was incorrect, even a
declarer of my

♠ Q94limited
ability had no problem making +1 on this

♥10962combined 19 count.
Why’s that?

♦875Just look at those 10’s and 9’s!

♣ 9732
♥ tricks with just 3 points in the suit!

Whichever
suit E-W attack helps declarer!

The bottom lines: Add on for 10’and 9’s. But note that the North
hand is not too strong for 1NT because the ♥QJ doubleton
are poor cards - but turned out great opposite 109xx! And I’ve mentioned
touching honours before – those two J10 combinations in the North hand.

Penalising the opponents when there’s no penalty double available

Dealer:♠ K6542Board 19
from Friday 14th

South♥
875

E-W vul♦
AK97Table
A

♣ 3West(G)NorthEast(F)South

---pass

♠ 9N♠ AQ1083pass1♠(1)pass(2)1NT

♥
AQJWE♥ K94dbl(3)passpass(4)2♠(5)

♦J543S♦Q106passpassdbl(6)all
pass

♣ Q10762♣ K8

♠ J7Table
B

♥10632West(E)NorthEast(C)South

♦82---pass

♣ AJ954passpass(1)1♠2♣(7)

pass(8)passpass(9)

Table A:(1)A light opener, but fine in 3rd
seat.

(2)What did you bid with this
East hand F in this week’s quiz? It’s a decent 14 count which has improved with
RHO opening 1♠, and so 1NT is reasonable but would not be my choice. I like my
partner’s pass (I was West) – wait and see what happens – maybe things will
turn our very well? Double is out of course, as that is take-out.

(3)What did you bid
with this West hand G in this week’s quiz? A double here is take-out of ♠’s, and as
you have already passed partner will only expect 10-11 points. Pass is
reasonable, but I chose to double.

(4)We’ve got them
here, what a great partner I have.

(5)We’re toast
whatever I do.

(6)When I say double
– I mean it.

Table B:(1)This North chose to pass. OK.

(7)Way short of the
mark for a 2-level overcall.

(8)What did you bid
with this West hand E in this week’s quiz? Playing negative

doubles
you pass of course – awaiting partner’s ‘automatic’ re-opening double which you
will then pass for penalties.

(9)Unfortunately
West is still waiting. What did you do with this East hand C in this week’s
quiz? Playing negative doubles then a re-opening double is absolutely mandatory
with anything but a very strange hand.

And what happened? 2♠ doubled went two down for the top to E-W. 2♣ went four down; it
was a decent score for E-W, but a double would have got the top spot.

The bottom lines

-If LHO opens and RHO bids 1NT, then
dbl is for take-out of the suit opened.

-With length and
strength in RHO’s suit, it’s usually best to pass.

-When playing
negative double, opener should re-open with a double with most hand types.

3rd hand highBoard 21 from Friday 14th

There are a number of saying in bridge. Two which are true most of
the time are:

(a)3rd
hand plays high and (b)
return partner’s suit.

Let’s see what happened when both of these were ignored: -

Dealer:♠ J10753WestNorthEastSouth

West♥ 76531NTpasspass(1)pass

Love all♦ 52

♣ 103E-W play
4-way transfers, so East could

have shown his ♣ suit at (1). But what’s the

♠ K64N♠ 9point? 3NT must surely be the best bet for

♥ Q2WE♥ A108game.

♦AKJ106S♦Q94

♣ Q42♣ KJ9865Anyway, it’s about the play now. North

♠ AQ82led the ♠J, some would prefer a 4th
highest but

♥KJ94­that’s not
the issue here. What should South play?

♦873DUMMY
What he
did was play low! Now the contract

♣ A7still
looks pretty hopeless for West and perhaps

he should take his ♠K and run for two down?

But he did not want to give up so easily and so he also played low.
Now North had no idea what was going on and
understandably switched to a ♥. Low from dummy and South produced the ♥9 which declarer won
with the ♥Q. Declarer then ran the ♦’s and then a ♣ ensured +1 when South
turned up with the ♠A. N-S eventually winning just the ♥K, ♠A and ♣A.

Clearly South should have won trick 1 with
the ♠A and returned the ♠Q; that ensures the defeat of the contract. Apparently South did not
want to ‘waste’ his partner’s ♠J!

And what happened at other tables? 3NT was
bid at 3 other tables; it went one down twice and somehow made +2(!) at the
fourth. I’m afraid I don’t know the (lack of) defence at that table.

The bottom lines: -

-An honour lead
(especially against NT) usually promises the next lowest card (unless you play
some sort of ‘sophisticated’ scheme such as ‘Jack denies’.

-Do not be afraid
to overtake partner’s honour lead if you can afford it.

-Return partner’s
suit.

-3rd
hand plays high. When there is no honour in dummy it is usually best for the 3rd
player (i.e. sitting over dummy here) to play his highest card.

-I prefer to keep
my leads simple, especially with unfamiliar partners, and find that it’s
simplest to always lead top of an honour sequence.

How do you reach 6NTBoard 23 from Friday
14th

Most pairs reached slam (6♥) and I was asked how 6NT could be
reached. This was a typical auction: -

Dealer:♠ AQJ

South♥
AK8543WestNorthEastSouth(H)

Both vul♦
AJ4---1♣

♣ 3pass1♥(1)pass1NT(2)

pass4♣(3)pass4♥

♠ 9653N♠ K1042pass5♣(4)pass5♠

♥
JWE♥ 1092pass6♥(5)all pass

♦1053S♦Q962

♣ J9765♣ 104

♠ 87

♥Q76

♦K87

♣ AKQ85

(1)What did you open
with this South hand H(a) in this week’s quiz? I would
open 1NT (15-17). In my opinion it’s much too good for 1♣ followed
by 1NT (12-14) or 2♣.

(2)And what did you rebid with the South hand H(b)?
1NT is 12-14 and if you don’t agree with me that it’s worth a 1NT opener then
that’s the rebid. Note that this does not guarantee s
stop. I witnessed one South having a problem with this
rebid here, he eventually chose 2♦ which is
incorrect because it shows a much stronger hand (it’s a reverse) and also promises
4 ♦’s.

(3)Gerber.

(4)Kings?

(5)Chicken?

First of all, to answer the question (how to bid
6NT). It’s easy of course, (1NT – 6NT). 7♥ or 7NT are
also fine contracts that could/should also be reached after a 1NT opening, but fail because of the 5-1 ♣ break and
either finesse (♠ or ♦) failing.

And what happened? 3 pairs bid 6♥ (one made +1,
presumably West discarded a ♣?). One pair bid 6NT
and one somehow stopped in 3NT.

The bottom lines: -

-AKQxx is more than 9 points! Upgrade
a hand with a holding like this.

-If you open 1NT
you never have a rebid problem!

-A reverse is 16+
and shows at least 5-4 (always with more cards in the first bid suit).

-4♣ is Gerber
after partner’s last bid was 1NT or 2NT.

-4NT is quantitative
(invitational) after partner’s last bid was 1NT or 2NT.

Combining ChancesBoard 27 from Friday 14th

One pair overbid to 6♠ on this deal, and nearly every North mis-played it : -

Dealer:♠ KQ97642Table A

South♥ 94WestNorthEastSouth

Love all♦ 84---1♦(1)

♣ 1071♥(2)1♠2♥3♥

pass3♠(3)pass4♠

♠ 5N♠ 1083all pass

♥
AK105WE♥ QJ63

♦Q65S♦1072Table
B

♣ K9854♣ J63WestNorthEastSouth

♠ AJ---1♦(1)

♥8722♣(2)4♠(4)pass6♠(5)

♦AKJ93all
pass

♣ AQ2

Table A:(1)1♦ is correct,
it’s too strong for 1NT and not good enough for a strong bid.

(2)I would double! – looks ideal.

(3)No ♥ stop

Table B:(2)I still prefer double

(4)I guess that this
is fine if you agree it’s weak!

(5)And with 19
points South quite reasonably bid slam.

And what happened? 6♠ went two down. 4♠ made exactly at every table except Table A. Now I don’t know how it
was played at other tables - presumably every E-W cashed two ♥’s and then
declarer drew trumps and then took a losing finesse. At Table A declarer was a bit more careful. He drew trumps and cashed
♦AK and ruffed the 3rd round.
That set up the ♦’s and it was not necessary to take a (losing) finesse. Mind you, if
East led the ♥QJ and then a ♣ then it’s not so easy – but did he? I bet most North’s mis-played it?

The bottom lines: -

-If West had
doubled, then a jump to 4♠ by North is to play.

-But after a
simple overcall it’s not so clear and has to be agreed. It seems sensible to me
to play it as weak but I can’t fault South’s bidding with no such agreement.

-Combine your
chances when declarer. If you have various options in the play – then try to
set up a suit rather than a finesse – you can always
finesse later if the suit can’t be set up.

Who should bid Blackwood?Board 10 from Friday 14th

I was asked how to reach 6♠or 6NT on this board. My
inquisitor correctly saying that after West bids Blackwood and finds an ace
missing then it’s dodgy to look for kings.

Answer below.

Dealer:♠ 103Table A

East♥ QJ98WestNorthEastSouth

Both vul♦
953--passpass

♣ Q9652NT(1)pass3NT(2)all pass

♠ AQJ6N♠ K982Table B

♥
A5WE♥ K74WestNorthEastSouth

♦KQJ86S♦1072--passpass

♣ A10♣ KJ32♣(1)pass2♦pass

♠ 7542NT(3)pass3♣(4)pass

♥106324♠passpass(5)pass

♦A4

♣ 8742

Table A:(1)20-21

(2)With a flat hand opposite
20-21 slam may be doubtful and so this East eschewed the possible ♠ fit and
bid 3NT. Now you all know me (never deny a 4 card major, even with 4333 shape)
but there is one important exception – that’s when you have so many points that
you expect to make 11 tricks in either contract. So given that East does not
want to look for slam, 3NT is better than Stayman.
Mind you, a quantitative 4NT looks like a reasonable shot and West would accept
with his clear maximum.

Table B:(1)I’m not sure if they play a different system
or if this West upgraded this hand to 22-24 points. With this great ♦ suit
upgrading is certainly reasonable.

(3)22-24 in Standard
American these days

(4)Stayman

(5)Having found the
4-4 fit I think that East should go for slam here. I would bid 4NT (Blackwood)
and then 6♠. Now I have mentioned in earlier news-sheets that bidding Blackwood
is dodgy with a wide open suit that partner has not bid but since he’s got
22-24 points it’s worth the risk.

And what happened? One pair bid 6♠. 3NT got the 2ndtop
and the rest shared the wooden spoon for 4♠+2.

The bottom line: -

-One rare
exception to denying a 4 card major is when you have a flat hand and so many
points that you expect to make the same number of
tricks (i.e.11) in 3NT or a major suit.

-When you have
shown your hand then it’s up to partner to look for slam; so in this example
West can never go slamming – it’s up to East if he wants to have a shot.

-Having used
Blackwood or RKCB, 5NT asks for kings and it’s generally accepted that all aces
(or key cards) must be present for a king ask.

Raise partner’s pre-empt with 3 card
supportBoard
6 from Friday 14th

Dealer:♠ K108Table
A

East♥
KQ8753West(J)NorthEastSouth

E-W vul♦
5--2♠pass

♣ K96pass(1)3♥(2)pass4♥

all pass

♠ 642N♠ AJ9753

♥
AJWE♥ 9Table
B

♦K864S♦J102West(J)NorthEastSouth

♣ A852♣ J103--2♠pass

♠ Q3♠(1)pass(3)passpass

♥10642

♦AQ973

♣ Q74

Table A:(1)What did you bid with this West hand J in this
week’s quiz? See table B.

(2)With West showing little
values, North has a comfortable 3♥ bid.

Table B:(1)With 3 card support for partner’s
pre-empt, always raise. This is ‘The Law’ and you should raise
pretty much regardless of your points; I would bid 3♠ here with a lot less
points and even with more (if not quite enough to try for game).

(3)And now it’s not
so easy for North. 4♥ is probably worth a try but you could easily run into trouble if
East has a little more and South did not have ♥’s.

And what happened? 3♠ made +1 for the E-W top. 4♥ was bid and made twice.

Table A:(1)What did you bid with this North hand K in
this week’s quiz? See table B.

Table B:(1)Now I guess that bidding 2♥ is not
totally unreasonable here, but I usually prefer to have a 6 card suit. In this
particular case South has denied 4 ♠’s and so presumably has something in ♣’s. Also,
you’ll probably get a ♠ lead on the bidding and that may work out very nicely if partner
has a ♠ honour.

And what happened? 3NT got a ♠ lead and so scored +2
for a complete top – outscoring everybody else who all played in ♥’s.

The bottom lines: -

-It’s usually best not to rebid a 5 card suit. Even if there is a 5-3 fit it may play
better in NT.

Force partner to do the right thingBoard 22 from Friday 14th

There’s interesting bidding and play on this deal: -

Dealer:♠ AQWestNorthEastSouth

East♥
10742--passpass

E-W vul♦
AK6pass1♣(1)pass1♥(2)

♣ AJ85pass4♥(3)all
pass

♠ 2N♠ K10853(1)I
would downgrade because of no

♥
KQWE♥ 86honours in the ♥ suit and
open 1NT,

♦J873S♦109542but I won’t argue with the 1♣ opening.

♣ K97632♣ Q(2)I would bid 1♠ - followed by 2♥.

♠ J9764Bid
5-5’s from the top down.

♥AJ953(3)But
the final contract is always 4♥ anyway.

♦Q

♣ 104

Now onto the play.
West decided to lead his singleton ♠. Now some may say that it’s a bad lead
with this trump holding, but as I was West I’ll say
nothing more.

South then asked East what the lead of a two meant. East replied
‘standard bridge’. Upon further interrogation he was informed that the lead of
a two promises an honour unless it’s a singleton. That’s standard.

Declarer
reasonably played the ♠Q and East won.

♠ AOn the
bidding, East placed West with ♠Jxx(x)

DUMMY♥
742and
so reasonably returned a ♦.

®♦
AKSouth
won, led a ♣ to the ♣A and finessed a ♥

♣ J85which
West won.

That
leaves this position, with West on lead.

♠ -N♠ 10853What card
should West play now?

♥
KWE♥ 8Now
West knows that East is now void in ♣’s

♦J87S♦10942(he noticed partner’s ♣Q fall). And he also
knows

♣ K9762♣ -that his ♣K is a boss
and will stand up if led.

♠ J976So he led the ♣9!!

♥AJ95Now
West knows exactly what’s going on and he

♦-also knows that his
partner does not!

♣ 10East
assumed that South had the ♣K and obviously

ruffed. But what should he return?

The answer is, as it often is, trust partner (rather than an
opponent). E-W play Lavinthal (McKenny)
and a high ♣asks for a ♠. East knew that this
would mean that South had started with 5 ♠’s but after some
thought he decided to trust partner. The ♠ return set the
contract.

And what happened? 4♥ made exactly at every other table.

The bottom lines: -

-Eight ever, nine never:
South should play the ♥A at trick one.

-Bid touching 5-5’s from
the top down (4-4’s bid the lower ranking).

-Play a signalling system.
I recommend Lavinthal (McKenny)
for all non-regular partnerships as the ‘standard’ for our club. I have a sheet
on it for those interested.

-Trust partner!

Overtake if you need to lead to the next trickBoard 6 from Wednesday 12th

Answer: He should overtake with the ♦A and return a ♥. Why?
Because West will almost certainly be in a spot if he is left on lead at trick
two – the ♥ switch needs to come from East. East also knows the ♦ situation
(declarer must be void now) and he also knows that West will probably continue
with a fateful ♦ if left on lead.

And what happened? East played an encouraging ♦3 at trick
one (they pay low to encourage). Obviously West had no idea that East had 6 ♦’s and so
he ‘safely’ continued with a ♦. The resultant ruff and discard gifted the contract to South.

And at other tables? 5♣ was doubled and went one down at two other tables.

The bottom lines: -

-Make life easy
for partner if you can.

-A king lead
promises the queen if you’ve bid the suit.

Editorial

I have been going through old news-sheets as I put them on the web
and found this amusing article (137): -

What
a Friendly Club!

Our Irish visitors (Kevin and Noreen) remarked to Richard what a
nice, quiet, friendly club this is! Richard told them that that’s the way the
director tries to keep it (and has to put in a lot of effort just to do that).
I could give a list of ½ a dozen or so players who are noticeably absent at the
moment – but no names!

One of these un-named noticeably absent individuals returned, caused
considerable disruption, and has now been banned. Dave remarked how nice and
peaceful the club had been for 6 months or so before his return and suggested
he be thrown out for good. Most agree.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A:1NT. About 10-13 in the balancing seat. Pass is also reasonable I
suppose.

Hand B:(a)3♥, pre-emptive.

(b)2♥. A simple
overcall. You cannot pre-empt as a jump over a pre-emptive

opening
shows a very strong hand – there is no such thing as a pre-empt over a
pre-empt.

Hand C:Dbl. ‘Semi-automatic’
when playing negative doubles and this hand certainly is no exception. Double
so that partner can pass if he has a ♣ penalty hand.

Hand D:2NT. This is an
excellent 11 points and well worth a raise.

Hand E:Pass. Sit back and
wait for partner’s ‘automatic’ re-opening double (you are playing negative
doubles of course).

Hand F:Pass. It’s usually
best to pass with length and strength in RHO’s suit. You
cannot double for penalties and on a good day partner will get a double
(take-out) in and you can pass for penalties. 1NT (15-18) is just about
acceptable (this hand is good enough as it has improved with RHO bidding ♠’s) but I
don’t really like it with this many ♠’s.

Hand G:Dbl. This is for
take-out (of ♠’s). It would be nice to have 4 ♥’s but these are 3 decent
ones; and partner will not expect more in values as you are a passed hand.

Hand H:(a)1NT. The ♣AKQxx are huge and this hand is easily good enough for a 15-17 1NT.

(b)1NT. If you did
not open 1NT (15-17) then you have to bid 1NT now (12-14). Note that this does
not guarantee a ♠ stop – it simply shows a balanced 12-14.

Hand J:3♠. With 3
card support always raise partner’s pre-empt and make
it difficult for the next player.

Hand K:Pass. It’s usually
best to bebid your major here only if you have a 6 card
suit. In this particular case it’s very likely that 1NT will play nicely even
if partner has 3 ♥’s as he has bid your singleton and the expected ♠ lead will
turn out nicely if partner has an honour in the suit (especially the queen).